1
Q
Who/ When was Cupid Complaining to Venus made?
A
- Lucas Cranach the elder
- 1525
2
Q
What is important about Cupid Complaining to Venus?
A
- Produced for someone of high rank
- Dimension of Sensuality
- A depiction of Cupid complaining to his mother Venus
- Cupid reaches into a hive for honey and is stung by, Venus not concerned about this
- Venus gazes at audience to bring audience into picture and show her naked body
- Depicted dressed in headwear and jewelry of the 16th century, conflation of the time
- Conflation between Eve and Venus with the apples on the tree above her
- Venus’s lack of concern represents the sadness associated with love and Cupid reaching into the hive, explained in the inscription at the top
- Warns about the pursuit of pleasure
- Cranach has snake-like logo in most of his images
3
Q
When/ Who made the Money Lender and his wife?
A
- Quentin Massys
- 1514
4
Q
What is important about the Money Lender and his wife?
A
- Shows scene of the mercantile economy in Antwerp
- Money Lender weighing his money and coins next to his wife
- wife avoiding religious devotion because she is distracted by the usury
- convex mirror in the portraits shows figure who is not included in the picture
- these mirrors were used for security for moneylenders
- points going the right way to god
- the ability of the oil to make reflective surfaces
- scales weighing coins often shown in last judgment scenes
5
Q
Who/ when was the old woman made?
A
- Quentin Massys
- 1513
6
Q
Define Genre
A
A scene of everyday life, believed to be developed in the 16th century where religious elements are more subtle than previous paintings
7
Q
What is important about the old woman?
A
- Portrait of grotesque woman dressed in inappropriate clothing
- holds rosebud in hands
- Picture addresses new found worry of people changing classes with a new mercantile system
- Anxiety associated with people presenting themselves in new ways
- Old woman looking for love represents this
- A joke because her costume is dated
- Probably a portrait because disease specifically deforms the face
8
Q
Who/ When was the Meat Stall made?
A
- Pieter Aertsen
- 1551
9
Q
What is important about the Meat Stall?
A
- Unusual subject matter of composition, meat is shown in a jarring way
- cow head draws the audience in
- In the background, there is Mary, Joseph, and Christ fleeing from a murder
- Even while running Mary is shown giving charity
- The contrast of Excess in foreground and charity shown by Mary in the background
- The scene on right shows women drinking in a tavern
- The ground has muscle shells and Oyster shells to show whats taking place in the background
- talking about son who wastes his money on drinks and prostitutes
- Bodies of animals display similarly to Christ
- Fish positioned like crucifix and fish represents Christ
- Fish points to Mary
- Sign in the back represents societal and political issues in Antwerp
- tension between religious authority and pursuit of money as religious people kicked out of area in the background for business expansion
- Red Robe only worn by butchers
- Only 62 butcher’s in Antwerp
- If butcher died, membership to guild gets passed along as a result the picture could participate in the discussion about the butcher guild monopoly
10
Q
What is important about Venice?
A
- Ottoman Empire influences and mixes with Venice Art
- Venice experts of glass and cloth
- Venic made up of many islands
- Many people of different backgrounds trading in Venice
11
Q
What is important about the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace)?
A
- Built from 1340-1438
- Quite open in design and less defensive than Florence Palace (Florence town hall built like a fortress)
- Located in piazzo San Marco (San Marco’s Place)
- First thing a person sees when entering Venice
- gothic pointed arches
- lobes on second floor islamic
- third floor diamond pattern byzantine
- prime example of hybrid culture
12
Q
What is the other name for Ca’ d’oro (House of Gold)?
A
- Contarini’s Palace
* *located in Venice
13
Q
Which empire was Venice apart of at one point?
A
byzantine
14
Q
Who/ when was the foreshortened Christ made?
A
- Andrea Mantegna
- After 1466
15
Q
What is important about the foreshortened Christ?
A
- was found after the artists death in his home, everything else unknown
- representation of dead christ on marble slab
- focus on deadness of the body
- feet too small and head to large: plays with linear perspective
- wounds prominent and hands posed unnaturally to show wounds
- 3 faces to his left
- John the Evangelist, Virgin Mary and Mary Magedelia
- many religious practitioners would whip themselves to feel the pain of christ -> picture could be commenting on this
- Artist adapts one point perspective
- Bellini important in Venice
16
Q
Who/ When was St. Francis in the Desert Made?
A
- Bellini
- 1470
17
Q
What is important about St. Francis in the Desert?
A
- All divine signs of St. Francis dropped
- Subtle Representation
- Shows St. Francis being interrupted by something/ accepted by divinity
- strong light source in the top left corner, trees being pushed away by it
- stigmata shown on hand
- Animals recognize divinity but not shepherd in the back
18
Q
Who/ When was the Procession of the Relic of the True Cross before the Church of St. Mark made?
A
- Gentile Bellini
- 1496
19
Q
What is important about the Procession of the Relic of the True Cross before the Church of St. Mark?
A
- true cross shown scarcely
- St. Mark church commissioned image to be shown on feast day of St. Mark
- Represents actual previous scene of parade with members of the confraternity showing the relic/ true cross in a box
- Miracle that day, Jacopo de’ Salis a tradesman from Brescia, kneels before relic and son is miraculously cured
- image is a reminder of the crosses power
- shows international atmosphere of Venice
20
Q
Define Scuole
A
Charitable organizations that take care of poor and receive donations; powerful
21
Q
define relic
A
object associated with holy figure or St. with healing power
22
Q
What happened May 29th 1453?
A
- Ottomans invaded Constantinople
- After 1500 years Roman Empire falls but Venice negotiates with them
- Mehmet II wanted to rebuild after invasion and tries to learn western art techniques
- Gentile Bellini is sent to him
- Durer went to Bellini’s studio in Europe
- Durer makes prints to capitalize on Islamic trends
23
Q
Who/ When was St. Mark Preaching in Alexandria made?
A
- Gentile Bellini
- 1504
24
Q
What is important about St. Mark Preaching in Alexandria?
A
- Scuole of St. Mark commissioned it
- imagined/hybrid space of St. Mark Cathedral
- shows moment in St. Mark’s life where he tries to convince infidels to convert
25
What is important about the Wilson Reading?
- One customer came to summarize the ottoman people
- costume books popular genre
- Exaggerated features to show status
- people perpetuate stereotypes
- understanding of rulers depends on political context
- art would be destroyed to show images
- Venetians collecting images of Turk's changes the opinion of them
- Reinforces ideas of thinking about oneself
26
Who is Vasari?
- founder of art history
- Wrote lives of the artists in 1550
- tried to promote catholicism with his book
27
What was the age of high renaissance?
- the period where current artists were better than the ancients
- idealized naturalism: improving on nature
- Michelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci
* * described in Vasari's book
28
What was mid Renaissance?
- In-between phase for artists, art shows real life
| - Donatello, Brunelleschi
29
What was the age of low renaissance?
- art not realistic
| - i.e Giotto and other artists of the time
30
Who/ when was the Last Supper Made?
- Da Vinci
| - 1498
31
What is important about the Last Supper?
- Commissioned by Ludovico Sforza
- housed in Santa Marie delle Graze
- Monks would eat in room in silence where it hung
- unlike Castegro's last supper, characters are behind the table
- table divides earthly and heavenly (front to back)
- Lack of overt divinity
- Christ positioned in front of window showing divinity
- points converge at Christ's head/ Christ is in the centre
- Christ gathers to have a meal with his 12 disciples
- Christ tells them one of them will betray him
- Showing moment after declaration
- Response of disciples shows who they really are
- Apostles/ disciples are shown in groups of 3
- Judas is 3 to the left of Christ grabbing his bag of money
- St. Peter to the right of him
- Peter grabs his knife to defend Christ referencing when he used a knife to defend Christ from a soldier trying to take him away
- Thomas is to the right of Christ
- he points upward to question this declaration of Christ
- started saying "A doubt in Thomas"
- Thomas uses his finer to verify Christ's wound
- spacial recession of tapestry, wall and roof
- tempera and oil on plaster
- fell apart almost immediately after completion
32
Define Ecce Homa
Behold the man, presentation of Christ with crown of thorns before the crucifixion
33
Who/ When was the Mona Lisa made?
- Da Vinci
| - 1506
34
What is important about the Mona Lisa?
- Oil on Panel
- enters into Francis the first's house after death
- In Louvre in France
- In 1911 image stolen because people thought it should be in Italy
- Mona Lisa made headlines for 2 years after
- Could be the wife of a Florentine Merchant
- Speculation of the image not being completed because they lack jewels/embellishment and was in his possession when he died
- atypical because portrait was to in profile(from the side)
- In diptych man on the left and woman on the right
- Duke lost his eye so he was positioned on the right
- duchess ictère after she died/ used death mask
- perhaps not a profile shot because of Da Vinci's ability to travel
- uses oil instead of tempura
- She is on a balcony, seated on a chair
- magical background
- People questioned France's embrace of the Mona Lisa because France was against islamic veil which looked similar
35
Who/ When was the Portrait of Pope Julius Made?
- Raphael
| - 1511
36
What is important about the Portrait of Pope Julius?
- Oil on Panel
- People afraid of him because his ferocity in battle
- Can't separate religion, politics and economy
- called "warrior pope"
- Depicted not as a warrior, but in reflection
- reflects on constantly shifting borders
- Oil allows for better looking pope outfits
- holds handkerchief in one hand and yet tensely holds arm chair in the other
- Acorn atop throne represents his last name, family crest also shows this
- 2 crossed keys representing St. Peter who is often considered the first pope
37
What did Raphael decorate in the Vatican?
The Stanza Segnatra (Papal Library)
38
What are the 4 branches of knowledge?
Religion, Law, Poetry and Philosophy
39
Who/ When was the School of Athens made?
- Raphael
| - 1510
40
What is important about the School of Athens?
- Fresco
- Shows coexistence of humanist and religious values
- trump l'oil: to fool the eye, gives impression of architecture and linear perspective
- In center on the left is Plato and on the right is Aristotle
- Plato points upward to the heavens/ sky suggesting his association with the abstract
- Aristotle points down because he was interested in the material
- Plato wears red (fire) and purple (oxygen)
- Aristotle wears blue (water) and brown (earth)
- On the left front is pythagorus and Heraclitus with features of Michelangelo
- On the right is Euclid with features of Bramante, Zoroaster, Ptolemy, and Raphael himself
- Bramante and Michelangelo are included because they are working nearby
- Bramante rebuilding St. Peters
- Michelangelo doing Sistine Chapel
- Conflation of artist and well established philosophical figures
- Athena in the niche on the right
- Apollo in niche on the left
- Raphael claimed to have died at 33 (same age as Christ) to appear christ like instead of his actual age of 37
41
Who/ When was the interior of the Sistine Chapel done?
Michelangelo
| 1508-1512
42
What is important about the interior of the Sistine Chapel?
- Chapel named after the person who built it
- Originally just had stars on the ceiling
- Pope talks in the Chapel
- New pope is selected in the chapel
- Botticelli and other artists helped in the Chapel
- Paint used on roof to imply architecture (trump l'oil)
- Paints various sibyls and prophets
- they look on at the scene before them
- looking at scenes from the book of Genesis
- all events on the roof are before christ
- central decoration is 3 themes w/ 3 panels each
- creation of the world above the high altar in the back of the room
- Creation of Adam and eve and fall from paradise in the middle
- Life of Noah during and post flood closest to the front
- Accommodates viewing conditions: Scenes at the back 2-3 times longer than those at the front to give continuity
43
Who/ When was the Drunkenness of Noah made?
- Michelangelo
| - 1508-1511
44
What is important about the Drunkenness of Noah?
- Creation of Adam, Eve Sun and Moon
| * ** located on roof of Sistine Chapel
45
Who/ When was the Wall Behind the High Altar made?
- Michelangelo
| - 1534-1541
46
what is important about the Wall Behind the High Altar?
- 1517 start of protestant reformation
- people respond to excess of Roman Catholic Church
- Shows the Last Judgment
- People refer to Michelangelo as divine
- Scene makes clergy reflect upon their life actions as they select the new pope
- Christ and Mary in the Centre
- Christ raises his hands and banishes figures underneath him to hell
- Angels blow trumpets to wake people from the graves for judgment
- using power of prayer to bring people to heaven on the left
- Charon (god of underworld) ferries people to hell on the right
- idealized naturalism with Christ's body (25 pack)
- bodies very detailed and shows sculpture influence
- St. Peter holding key
- St. Peter takes on similar status to christ in terms of size
- St. Sebastian shown with arrows
- St. Catherine on broken wheel
- Right under christ is St. Bartholomew with his knife
- He was fillet'd alive for religious beliefs (martyr)
- the fillet'd skin is a self portrait of Michelangelo just hanging above hell
- Shows the life and divinity of Michelangelo
- Also relates to Poetry and story of Marcius and Apollo
- Marcius challenges Apollo to flute contest and is fillet'd alive
47
Who/ when was the Pieta made?
- Michelangelo
| - 1500
48
What is important about the Pieta?
- Marble medium
- commissioned by French Cardinal
- Commissioned to be tomb decoration
- supposed to incite prayer from visitors
- people would leave money to church in will to pray for soul
- Sensual, polished version of Christ body instead of bloody and bruised, looks like he is sleeping
- Mary also looks exceptionally young
- Mary's body expanded relative to traditional Pieta scene to hold Christ more naturally
49
define Pieta
Scene of Mary with dead Christ in her arms, causes people to contemplate the suffering of Christ
50
define mannerism
art that distorts/ is artificial with regards to balance and proportions/ naturalism. Went from around 1520-1590. Removal of overt religious representations and story.
51
Who/ When was Descent From the Cross Made?
- Jacopo Pontormo
| - 1528
52
What is important about the Descent From the Cross?
- Space doesn't make sense (where are feet planted?)
- ambiguous scene
- strange colours used
- Mary's blue is no longer unique to her
- Mary's body is distorted
- crouched figure should not be able to carry Christ in that pose
- Void in the middle represents emptiness without Christ
- disembodied hand on christ
- no overt signs of mourning or pain
- self- portrait of artist on the very right
- no wounds on christ
53
Who/ When was an Allegory with Venus and Cupid made?
- Agnolo di Cosimo Bronzino
| - 1545
54
What is important about an Allegory with Venus and Cupid?
- Gift to Francis the first
- Center foreground is Cupid and Venus
- Cupid grabbing tits and kissing Venus
- Using beauty and body to disarm Cupid by taking an arrow from his quiver
- Cupdi's body doesn't make sense (neck too long)
- Grounding of feet doesn't make sense
- Venus has golden apple and 2 doves which is how she is identified
- Venus seems suspended
- 2 maks in image foreground on the floor
- figure in top left is a mask as well
- Mask in left is arguing with Cronus on what should be done with the background cloak
- Old man has hour glass indication Cronus (time)
- young figure represents folly or playfulness
- he is preparing to throw flowers on cupid and venus
- shows dichotomy between time and youth
- he stepped on a thorn but its oblivious to pain
- bizarre hybrid creature in the centre representing pleasure offering a honeycomb
- innocent girl face with mixed body (snake, lion, scorpion)
- figure on very left read as jealousy or syphilis
- syphilis brought in by French in 16th century
- just realizing syphilis comes from sex
55
Who/ when was the self portrait in the convex mirror made?
- Parmigiano
| - 1524
56
What is important about the self portrait in the convex mirror?
- believed to be a gift for the pope before he went to Rome
- no linear perspective
- windows and ceilings distorted
- gold frame on the right parallels frame on convex mirror
57
Who/When Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome was made?
- Parmigiano
| - 1534
58
What is important about Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome?
- neck, torso and hip don't make sense
- weirdly shaped body (looks like vase)
- christ extra long with muscle doesn't make sense
- Christ hands represents death
- makes fun of elegance with gesture
- St. Jerome in the bottom right unfolding a scroll in classical
- figure so small of St. Jerome
- Column in the background that doesn't do anything
59
When was Anguisolla self portrait made?
- 1556
60
What is important about the Anguisolla self portrait?
- woman not allowed in workshops
- not from family of artists and workshopped twice
- believed to make many self- portraits
- very small miniature
- Puzzle of letters references her father
- Medal she holds has inscription
- Inscription in Latin tells of her as a virgin in a particular city
- self portraits show association with art like craft smith unlike Durer
61
Who/ When was Perseus made?
- Benvenato Cellini
| - 1545-1551
62
What is important about Perseus?
- Commissioned by Cosimo I
- Bronze medium
- Piaza de la signoria is location (outside town hall in Florence)
- In 15-16th century Bronze becomes popularized again
- making this statue seemed impossible because of the difficulty of casting bronze at such a large size
- used pewter plates to help bronze melt and thanked god
- Perseus in both greek and roman myths
- Zeus seduces medusa, hera turns her into gorgon
- Perseus comes to slay medusa with winged sandals, helmet and a reflective shield
- Perseus slays her and takes her head
- this moment shown in sculpture
- is mannerist in terms of skills and content
- Perseus statue represents the Medici family defeating/ gaining power over the republic
- David and Heracles looking at Medusa represents Medici freezing Republic of Florence's power
- Also pun of beauty being breathless/ freezing people
63
What is important about the Nejad article?
- Artists have really detailed carpet design in their works
- "Hollbein Carpet" and "Lotto Carpet"; carpets named after artists
- 4 potentials for how carpet in " the married couple" could be interpreted
1. could function as mediator and facilitate the shift from physical to mental space in the production of space
2. Could highlight the honour of the deceased wife in family memory
3. Could symbolize the sitters wealth and status and raise public admiration
4. could just be humanist interest in oriental tradition
